And I see different types of ratios for macros(High Carb, Moderate, Zone Diet, Low Carb).

So, lets say I eat daily 2,500 calories in order to get to my weight goal.
If I follow the High carb ratio, that means around 50 grams of fat per day.
According to the calculator, if I go high on the fat grams, I will have to go higher on protein and lower on carbs. And that rule applies in the moderate, zone diet, and low carb ratios.

My question is how many grams of fat per day is the best for my specific goal?

There is no "standard" for fat intake. Choose the ratio that works for you. Get the right amount of protein and total calories and adjust fat and carbs for effect.

Stu Ward
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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

you are VERY underweight indeed at the moment. I understand you want to stay lean and that's fair enough, but at your weight you can afford to be a little looser with things like macronutrient ratios.

I would recommend just having a target for grams of protein in a day, and just filling up on good quality food the rest of the time. As long as you're hitting your protein target, the other macros'll take care of themselves. You're not yet at the stage where you need to worry about the fine-tuning aspects (which is an umbrella that adjusting macro ratios and calorie counting would come under).

stuward wrote:There is no "standard" for fat intake. Choose the ratio that works for you. Get the right amount of protein and total calories and adjust fat and carbs for effect.

Thanks.
In the macro calculator website I posted there are 4 different ratios categories.
You are saying that it won't matter which one I choose.

But that's something I don't get. Lets say I take a total of 2,500 calories per day. And I choose "high carb" for 6 months(Period 1) and take 50 grams of fat per day, and adjust protein and carbs. Then, for another 6 months(Period 2) I now choose "low carb" and take 83 grams per day of fat, and adjust protein and carbs.

Would my physique be the same in period 1 and in period 2?

I would think that in Period 2 I would have more fat on my body, like more fat in my belly or something because of the increase of the fat grams?

What I'm saying is that different ratios work for different people depending on their unique differences and also based on the activity levels and goals. Robert had a good point. Eat real food and the macros tend to take care of themselves. If you get your protein from animal sources, like meat, fish, eggs and dairy, its usually accompanied by reasonable amounts of fat. Carbs provide immediate energy that you will need if you're active and they tend to help in bulking since they stimulate appetite. When cutting, it's better to limit carbs for the same reason.

Fat doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.

If I had to guess, my expectation is that higher fat in the diet would lead to leaner gains than the same calories with higher carbs, but you need to find the balance that works for you.

Stu Ward
_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

if you're really keen to use a ratio - and there's nothing wrong with that, some people like to have a plan all laid out on paper - then I would say that considering your goals (I'm assuming a lot of high intensity weight training) you would probably be better off with the higher carb approach.

The higher fat route is the healthier option, and would be the sensible choice if you weren't going to exercise as much, but you'll likely build more muscle higher carb. You'll definitely feel better in the gym.

In terms of leanness, I doubt there'll be all that much difference between the two.

Just to complicate things even further, you could toggle between higher carb and higher fat days within your week, with training days having higher carb and rest days being higher fat. At this stage in the game though, it's not necessary, so forget I mentioned it. If you can...

derok wrote:Thanks.
About the number of calories per day, I'm taking daily about 2,500 calories.
Is it ok?
If not, what number should I target?

That sounds about right. There are all kinds of calculators online but an easy rule of thumb is 20 calories per pound of body weight for weight gain.

Stu Ward
_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

those calories seem just a touch low to me, especially if trying to gain weight.

I'd up it 500 cals, and eat the same amount of calories on rest days as on workout days. Sure, you're doing more stuff on your workout days but you still need the energy on your rest days to recover from the workouts you did on your "on" days.

There is also a psychological component to counting calories. Most people that have trouble with gaining wight overestimate their calorie intake. Most people that have trouble losing weight underestimate what they eat. Make sure you're being realistic with your intake. Also, adjust your intake for effect. If you're not gaining 1/2 to 1 lb per week, eat more. If you're gaining more than a lb a week, eat less. If you want to fluctuate your intake during the week, go ahead. It's the average over the week that matters. Keep your protein and fat intake fairly constant but feel free to adjust your carbs to your daily activity level, provided your weekly goals are met.

Stu Ward
_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

not to mention that couting calories is just so annoying! I could never do it myself.

The easiest way to do it is just mark on a cup with a sharpie how much rice takes you up to the desired amount of carbs required, and have that with every meal. You'll know how much protein you're eating from what it says on the packet, and just let the fats take care of themselves.

I'm with Robert on this one. If you make good and healthy choises, your fats will come with your protein and whole food sources/cooking. If you eat crap, you will get excess amount of fat for sure. I still prefer leaner meats most of the time to reduce the calories and get more protein, but eating some fatty meat won't harm. Same goes with dairy. But I don't think there's a need to count the grams if you are not a pre-competition bodybuilder.